Webb Gets an 80s Makeover with Retro-inspired Game Night

An intimate crowd gathered last Thursday to play and compete with classic video games in the Student Activities Council hosted Retro Game Night in Webb Center.

The centerpiece for the event was “Pac-Man Battle Royale,” a four player Pac-Man game where eating the power pellets gives you the ability to eat other Pac-Mans. There was also a foosball table, two arcade basketball stations, a Namco multi-game cabinet, and two racing games set up for multiplayer. Though not exactly retro, ODU Video Game Design and Development Club’s “Ride the Lion” was also available for play.

All of the games were played constantly throughout the event, with Pac-Man being the most popular. Around 7:30, 80’s music began playing over the speakers, to help contribute to an arcade feel.

“This is awesome! We need more events like this for the nerds for sure,” said attendee Megan Newcomb.

The event was relatively small scale, making the amount of space seem unnecessary given the turnout. Aside from the listed games, there was a table with pizza and drinks on it, and places for people to take breaks and wait for their retro game of choice to become free.

“We’re excited to see people coming out and enjoying a SAC event and getting to know how the video game organizations work,” said Megan Harr, coordinator of activities for the Organization of Student Activities and Leadership.

“The event didn’t die until around 8:30, which is understandable because that’s when all the pizza was gone,” said Kayla Britford, the special events coordinator for SAC,

Joshua Cruz, the president of the Video Game Development and Design Club, had a couple of theories about the low turnout.

“If the time slot wasn’t conflicting with Anime Club and there had been more games the turnout would have been better,” He said,

Cruz also suggested that the event was not adequately advertised, saying that he had not heard about the event until he received an email the day before asking if the VGDDC would feature “Ride the Lion” there.

Still, “At the end of the day, free pizza and PAC-man,” Cruz summed up the event.